Units that flew the Roland CII??

[Brad]

The subject pretty much says it all. What units flew (even in limited numbers) the Roland CII? Particularly, were there units that had this aircraft and Albatross fighters at or near the same time, or that would regularly fly with the Albatross D series on missions?

[Brad]

anybody? Come on, somebody knows... fess up!

[Dan_San_Abbott]

Brad:
Tomorrow, I'll see what I can find, I know I have some information. It requires some searching.
Blue Skies,
Dan-San

[Dan_San_Abbott]

Brad:
Here is the list of units that I know LFG Roland C.II and C.IIa served in, there may be others:
Fl.Abt. 1b,2b,5,7,18,23,24,25 and 62.
KAGOHL I, Kasta 6,
KAGOHL III, Kasta 18,
KAGOHL IV, Kasta 22,
KAGOHL VIb, Kasta 33b,35b, Kasta 36b,
KAGOHL VII,Kasta 39.
Schusta 6,15,26b,27b,28b.
Geschwader Schule Paderborn,
Jagdstaffel Schule, Famars,
Beobachter Schule, Köln.
Fl.Abt= Flieger Abteilung.
KAGOHL=KampfGeschwader der Obersten Heersleitung.
Kasta=Kampfstaffel.
Schusta=Schutzstaffel.
GOD bless our President,
Dan-San

[Brad]

Dan San,

Thank you very much sir! You are my hero! :)

I note that 2 Jagstaffels flew them... so they should have been used alongside "real" fighters at some point. That helps immeasurably. (I was hoping that some of JG1 had flown them, but I guess not... I was led to believe that they were used in place of fighters for escort duties at times, and seeing them assigned to a Jasta reinforces that belief.)

As I noted in another thread, a bud and I are about to start one as a project. (and a third has decided now to join us.) We're drawing up plans currently, and have acquired what we think will be a suitable powerplant. (A Geo Metro/Suzuki 3 cylinder- it puts out about 70 hp if run conservatively, which is more than enough for a 1000 lb. gross weight aircraft with 150+ sq. ft. of wing area. It should perform like a Piper J-3 Cub.) We wanted to try to use authentic unit markings, and also to "pair it up" with fighters (with appropriate unit markings) that they would have actually flown alongside. Hopefully I can match it up with a unit that it may have realistically flown with that was flying Albatross D types at that time, or better yet in the same unit.

Albatross info is easy to come by. :) My personal favorite is the D-III, and since it was flown in such large numbers, that should be an easy task. Plans at this point are for 1 Roland C II or C IIa and 2 Albatross D III aircraft, and we wanted to keep the coloring/markings to those that would have flown together.

Thanks again for the info!

[Cigogne]

I don't see any Jastas on Dan's list, only the Jagdstaffel Schule, Famars (Fighter Squadron School at Famars,near Valenciennes).

The rest are Kastas. What 2 Jastas are you referring to, Brad?

[Rick]

Further, the Roland C.II is a two-seater. Hence the "C" designation. I, too, find it hard to be placed in a Jasta. Perhaps the Staffel 'hack'? But certainly never on a mixed mission with D types. R.

[Brad]

I don't see any Jastas on Dan's list, only the Jagdstaffel Schule, Famars (Fighter Squadron School at Famars,near Valenciennes).

The rest are Kastas. What 2 Jastas are you referring to, Brad?


Pardon my ignorance... I misread that. I was referring to the school you mentioned. Jasta = short form of Jagstaffel, right? I read that as 2 units, not unit + location. :) Thanks for the clarification.

[Brad]

Further, the Roland C.II is a two-seater. *Hence the "C" designation. *I, too, find it hard to be placed in a Jasta. *Perhaps the Staffel 'hack'? *But certainly never on a mixed mission with D types. * * R.


I was aware of the 2-seater, etc. I thought perhaps the C type might have been escorted by D types. This is the information I'm trying to find out about. Perhaps I wasn't being clear in what I was trying to convey.

[Dan_San_Abbott]

Brad:
To my knowledge no LFG Roland C.II aircraft were ever issued to a Jagdstaffel (Jasta) as a Jasta Hack.
All Jasta were issued one "C" type machine for transport purposes, most were types that had been withdrawn from front line service, such as Alb. C.I or C.III machines. They were usually marked in whatever the Jasta markings were. For example, Jasta 18, had a Han CL.III painted in the red and white Jasya 18 colors. Jasta 37, had a Halb. CL.II with the tailplane painted in black and white diagonal stripes.
GOD Bless President Bush,
Dan-San

[Droops]

I hate to sound dumb, but could someone refresh my memory as to what the functions of a Kasta were? What were the later unit specifications for the same work?

A follow-up to the original question would be the location of the units named above, but it sounds like such information is scarce, to say the least!

Regards,

john

[Dan_San_Abbott]

John:
A Kasta is an abreviation for Kampfstaffel, Battle Flight. It was composed of six aircraft, either "C" type, 2 seater aircraft, or "G" 3 or 4 seater twin engine Bombers. A Kasta was one of six units that made up a Kampfgeschwader der Obersten Heersleitung (KAGOHL) a Battle Squadron of the High Command. Some units had single engine "C" types for daylight bombing and "G" types for night bombing. In late 1916, four of the 7 KAGOHL were disbanded an reorganized into Schutzstaffeln, Protection Flights. The remaining three were split and each KAGOHL had 3 Kasta. In early 1917 KAGOHL III was reconstituted and was formed with 6 Kasta and the mission of KAGOHL III, was the bombing of England. Late In late 1917 the names were changed to really define their mission rôle to, Bombenstaffel, Bosta, Bombing Flight, and Bombengeschwader der Obersten Heersleitung, BOGOHL, Bombing Squadron of the High Command. They were equipped with the AEG G.IV or G.V, Fdh G.III or G.IIIa or Gotha G.IV or G.V or sub-type machines. At war end, there were 8 BOGOHL Nr1 to Nr.8, BOGOHL Nr 3 with 6 Bosta and all the rest of the BOGOHL each with 3 Bosta.
GOD Bless America,
Dan-San

[Soderbaum]

Hi

A small addition to Dan-San Kagohl description..

According to my notes the three remaining KGs(1,2 and 4) were not split up in early 1917(late 1916).

KG 2 and 4 were split on 7 Dec 1917 when forming the new
Bogohl 6 and 7.

It is a bit more complicated with KG 1 however.. ;).Three of their Kastas become the nucleus of the "new" KG 3 in early April 1917(and they did not got the full strength of 6 Kastas until Sep 1917).
The other four Kastas(including one from KG 4) was also split up to form the new Bogohl 5 on 7 Dec 1917...but BG 5 only got one Kasta from KG 1. The other two Kastas/Bostas were formed in summer 1917 and new formed respectively...

Oh it is to much to say
:-X
Gunnar

[Dan_San_Abbott]

Gunnar:
Rick is telling the complete story of the origins of the Schusta and what took place with the bomber units in our Schusta/Schlasta book.
GOD Protect our Constitution,
Dan-San

[Vigilant]

Dan San,

Is there a working title and publication date for the book?

I need to increase my knowledge about German organization/tactics (shouldn't be hard!).

Vigilant

[Rick]

Vigilant,

To answer both your question, no and no. We're working. We'll keep you informed. Rick

[Droops]

Thank you Dan San and Gunner for the explanation. That definately helped, even if it did get confusing in all of the changes there. :)

VBR,

John